Did Chicago Police Delete The Surveillance Footage of LaQuan McDonald’s Shooting In a Cover-Up Effort?

(Gigionthat) There was surveillance footage from a nearby Burger King restaurant of the moments before, during, and after 17-year-old Chicago teen Laquan McDonald was gunned down by police officer Jason Van Dyke — until a team of cops visited the restaurant and a large portion of the video mysteriously disappeared, the restaurant manager says.

Van Dyke shot McDonald 16 times over the course of 14 or 15 seconds, prosecutors said, less than 30 seconds after arriving at the scene. For 13 of those seconds, McDonald was already on the ground.

The video would appear to corroborate witness accounts that McDonald, who was holding a knife, did not speak to or threaten Van Dyke before the officer shot him.

Witnesses said Mr. McDonald, who was carrying a folding knife, never spoke to Officer Van Dyke nor did he do anything threatening toward him.

Now there is word that they may be footage of the incident that the public will never get to see. According to a Burger King district manager, almost 90 minutes of surveillance footage of the incident vanished shortly after a visit from the Chicago Police Department.

Per NBC Chicago:

“After the shooting, according to Jay Darshane, the District Manager for Burger King, four to five police officers wearing blue and white shirts entered the restaurant and asked to view the video and were given the password to the equipment. Three hours later they left, he said.

“The next day, when an investigator from the Independent Police Review Authority asked to view the security footage, it was discovered that the 86 minutes of video was missing.”

Darshane went on to tell NBC that all camera and video equipment were “on and working properly” on the night in question.

“We had no idea they were going to sit there and delete files,” said Darshane. “I mean we were just trying to help the police officers.”

Unsurprisingly, the Independent Police Review Authority issued a statement denying any knowledge of the authorities in question tampering with the footage.

“We have no credible evidence at this time that would cause us to believe CPD purged or erased any surveillance video,” read the IPRA’s statement in part.

Van Dyke, who had previously never been disciplined despite 18 reported complaints against him, is currently being held without bail.